Refrigerator appliances are known that are arranged to fit below a counter level, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,711,944, 2,618,936 and 2,490,494. In such arrangements, the refrigeration compartment is accessed through doors or drawers positioned below the countertop level. The top of the appliance is opaque or positioned below an opaque countertop, requiring a user to open the interior of the refrigeration appliance to view the contents and perhaps even to bend over to be able to see the contents. This action increases the energy usage of the appliance in that each time the interior is opened, the heat load on the appliance is increased.
It is also known to provide a glass top for below the counter refrigeration appliances to allow a user to view at least part of the contents of the refrigeration compartment. Typically such refrigeration appliances are for the storage of frozen products, such as ice cream, or beverages, such as carbonated beverages. Examples of such refrigeration appliances are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,274,267 and 4,449,761. These refrigeration appliances allow for accessing the interior of the appliance only through the top and not through a front of the cabinet. A drawback of glass top refrigerator appliances is that they leak a great deal of heat through the glass and around any openings or seals if the glass is not permanently secured to the appliance cabinet, and therefore are not energy efficient.
It therefore would be an improvement in the art if there were provided a refrigeration appliance that had a refrigeration compartment accessible from a front of the appliance, and also had a top that was at least partially transparent to permit a user to view at least a portion of the refrigeration appliance without opening the refrigeration compartment. It would also be an improvement if a cover were provided for a transparent top refrigeration appliance to reduce energy loss during times when the interior of the refrigeration appliance is not being viewed from the exterior.